SIMON SAYS – Writers and Seasonal Affective Disorder Part Two
February 18, 2010 by Adrian
Filed under Simon Says
The effects of the changing of the season on a person’s mood and energy level, even those people in apparent good health, are well documented and it is common for people living at high latitudes to experience lower energy levels in the winter months, both north and south of the equator.
So how does this affect those engaged in the business of writing?
Are those writers in Canada, the northern USA, Alaska and Scandinavia less prolific in their output in the winter months?
Does the cloud cover in Seattle or Vancouver or the rainy climate in Britain and Ireland reduce the amount of literary work originating in those areas?
Do American writers in Florida create more prose between October and April than their counterparts in Minnesota or the Dakotas?
Is a writer in Australia or South Africa more likely to produce a larger body of work because he or she has the advantage of more sunlight?
Many of us may prefer to escape to the sunnier environment of Mexico or the Caribbean each winter, but would it be to our advantage to live there permanently, in order to become more proficient at our chosen craft?
Is a writer deprived of winter sunshine less likely to write that best selling novel in the colder months than his colleague elsewhere who may have the advantage of more hours of sunshine per year?
